Pumpkins!

I made these pumpkin beads to wear to a Halloween party. I used this tutorial from Polymer Clay Central to construct the cane, then reduced it to different sizes. You can see some of the offcuts and stages in construction in the first photo below, along with the beads ready to go in the oven.

Pumpkins - construction and necklace

The beads were hurriedly baked the morning before the party, and even more hurriedly strung on brown cord. The earrings were put together once I’d actually arrived, so there wasn’t any opportunity for more than a basic knot. I’m going to redo them a little more neatly and also treat the cord ends to stop them fraying.

I love the way that polymer clay lets you either blend colours by squishing them into each other, or lay them side by side, totally unblended. The moment of cutting the waste ends off a newly assembled or reduced cane to see the finished article is purely gleeful!